URAL MOUNTAINa 



URAL MOUNTAINS. 



preSWVeB 1 



Lower do 1 



vtmt> the rirrr tarn. westward, it* level a about .150 feet abort the 

 K*. From Uu. place It ma; be MTijmted by large bane*, as it ba 

 no rapid, and a eonaiderable depth. Mow Orakaja the Ural flow, in 

 a bottom from oo to three mile* wide, which ii inclosed by higher 

 ground. rWDC from 60 to 100 ft above it Theae higher ground- 

 are th<- tAft* of the .tepprn. The bottom in chiefly covered Witt 

 wood*, bat in part* there are extensive meadows. The greater part 

 of thi* bottom i* annually inundated, ami only a few tract! are culti- 

 vated. In iU middle ooune the Ural b joined by the Sakmara from 

 UM> north, and the Ilek from the aouth. About 40 miles from its 

 month the Ural divide, into two channel*, of which the eastern 

 ea the name of Ural, and the weatern i called Mokroi Ricksai. 

 down the Ural again divide, into two channels, of which the 



i* called Ural, and the eastern Bukharka. The last-mentioned 



channel is the moat convenient for veeeels, and on its banks are the 

 fortrw. and town of Uuriew. The ialands forming the delta of the 

 fral are covered with alt*wmp*, and entirely unfit for cultivation 

 or pavtare. The quantity of fish annually taken in the Ural is very 

 gnat. The fih ascend the river to the fortress of Urask, where their 

 coon* b stopped by a weir. Belugas have been taken weighing 

 I0001b, and yielding 200 Ib*. of caviar; and sturgeons weighing 

 MO Ibt,, and yielding 40 Ibs. of caviar, have been taken in the Ural 

 Berides the caviar and isinglass, a great quantity of fish is Bent to 

 various parts of Russia. In summer the fish is salted, but in winter 

 it i exported in a frozen state. 



EL MOUNTAINS extend along the eastern border of Europe, 

 which they divide from Asia. The whole of tho range lies within the 

 dominions of Russia. IU most southern extremity is on the banks 

 of the river Ural, where that river runs from east to west, near 51 

 N. lat, and on both sides of 55" E. long. The moat northern 

 extremity reaches the Arctic Ocean on the Straits of Waigatz, and 

 terminates opposite the inland of Nova Zembla in 70 N. la'., ami 

 about 60* E. long. As the range reaches its culminating point near 

 the meridian of 60* E. long., and as it extends from south to north, 

 it i. cbuerd among the meridional ranges of mountains. 



The length of the range is about 1250 miles ; towards the southern 

 extremity, near S3* N. lat., the ridges spread over a tract about 

 100 miles wide, but farther north the breadth is less than 50 miles, 

 and nearly in the centre, between 56 and 60 N. hit., the mountain 

 range is hardly 20 miles acrow. Farther north it grows wider, but 

 this portion of the mountains is very imperfectly known. The whole 

 area of the Ural Mountains is about 120,000 square miles. The> 

 general elevation of the range is not great, none of the summits 

 rising to more than 6800 feet above the sea, and the highest parts of 

 the range often fall short of 2000 feet The chain descends with 

 steep declivities to the great plains of Asia, which are contiguous to 

 ita bate. On the west the mountains do not immediately border on 

 the great plains of Eastern Europe, but are separated from them by 

 a hilly tract of from 20 to 40 miles wide. The whole range may be 

 divided into three portions the Southern, Central, and Northern 

 Oral 



The Southern i'ral extends from the banks of the Ural River to 

 65" 80' N. lat Tho high ground approaches the tight bank of the 

 river so as to leave only a comparatively narrow tract of low and level 

 ground along ite Course. The ascent of these high grounds is very 

 much broken and rapid, but they are only from 600 to 700 feet above 

 the surface of the river. When this elevation is attained the country 

 gradually rises higher, and near 53 N. lat may be from 1200 to 1800 

 feet above the surface of the tea. This tract is called the table-land of 

 the Sakmara, frcm an affluent of the Ural River which drains nearly 

 the whole of it On the east the table-land declines with a steep 

 descent to the river Ural, where it flows from north to south, but on 

 the wrt ita slope is very gentle, and it is connected with the low ridge 

 called UbsUbei Sirt, which traverses the steppe that lies farther west, 

 and terminates on the bankiof the Volga, opposite Kamyshin (between 

 r and 61' N. lat). The surface of the table-land is very much 

 Token, and in many parte there are rocky hills of moderate elevation, 

 but they do not constitute ridges except on the banks of the Ick, a 

 mall affluent of tho Sakmara. A considerable portion of the table- 

 land U wooded and well .locked with animals, which supply the 

 Baahkirs with a part of their subsistence. There are some large 

 .warn pa, 



'be north ride of the table-land of Sakmara are two ranges of 

 num., of which the eastern is called tho Irendik Mountains, but 

 farther north it takes the name of Ural-Tau (or Girdle Mountains) 

 t run. north by east to 65" 80' N. lat In a few places it contains 

 d nmmita, for inrtanw, near ita southern extremity, east of 

 Tulk wh, where it is more than 2900 feet above the sea ; but in 

 grtMnU the nimtnit U a level plain about 2000 feet high and seven or 

 It Is mostly covered with swamps. The western 

 DM DO general name. It rises in the most southern bend of 

 ?*?'Jr l * ta '!f * od """ nc * r 'y north-*ast, gradually approaching 

 the Ural-T.u. fw.r it, southern extremity, which is less than 60 

 mile, distant from that of th Ural-T.,,,, it does not rise much above 

 ral level of the table Und of Skmara ; but farther north it 

 i in elev.tlon, >,! exhibit* several hu:h tummiU, among 

 which are th, Taman-Tau. at the source of tfae Ilialaya, and the 

 , north of it Tho la,t-mentioned mount in the highest in 



the Southern Ural, and rises more than 4700 feet above the sea-levi-1 ; 

 and snow is found in some ravines near its summits all the year round. 

 The whole western chain is thickly wooded, but many of the slopes 

 are nearly inaccessible, owing to the deep swamps on their 

 Wild animals are very numerous, especially bears, deer, and elks. 

 The valleys between the ranges are either destitute of trees and 

 covered with thick grass or swamps. In some places however there 

 are extensive woods. 



The two choinsjust mentioned approach one another at the place 

 where the rivers Ural, Bialaya, and Ai, an affluent of the Ufa, originate, 

 but they do not join. They run parallel to one another from 54 30' 

 to 55 30' N. lat, being hardly ten miles distant from one another. 

 The eastern, which preserves the paine of Ural-Tau, is a continuous 

 range, but not so high as the western, which is composed of three 

 ridges, called from south to north Oorengai-Tau (3000 feet), Tagatmoi- 

 Tau (8500 feet), and Yeonna-Tau, which is the highest of the three. 

 Between these ridges are depressions, through which the rivers flow 

 westward to the Ufa and Bialaya. The Ural-Tau does not rise in 

 these parte above 2000 feet, and is frequently much lower. The 

 valley between the two chains is about 1000 feet above the sea-level, 

 and occupied by a considerable number of insulated hilts. In this 

 valley are the principal mines of Slatoust. 



A third range lies farther east, and runs parallel to the Ural-Tau, but 

 is not connected with it. Between 55 30' nnd 54 30' N. lat. it is 

 not inferior to the Ural-Tau in elevation, but farther south it decreases 

 considerably in height, and terminates between 54 and 53 in isolated 

 hills. It bears the name of Ilmenes-Tau, and appears to be sterile 

 and destitute of trees. 



The Central Ural extends from 65 30' to 58 N. lat., and may be 

 considered as a wide swell, which begins on the west on the banks of 

 the river Kama, an affluent of the Volga, and rises gradually for 50 or 

 100 miles more, until it attains its highest level, whence it extends 

 in an uneven plain, and then descends on the eastern side, likewise 

 with a rather gentle but much shorter slope. The lower edge of tho 

 western slope at the town of Perm, on the Kama, is only 378 feet 

 above the sea-level, the highest point, on the road leading from Perm 

 to Ekatarinburg is 1638 feet, and Ekatarinburg, on the plain east of 

 the eastern declivity, is 858 feet above the sea-level. The region pre- 

 sents vast swamps destitute of trees in some parts ; in others it is 

 overgrown with stunted woods. This part of the Ural Mountains is 

 traversed by the great commercial road between Russia and Siberia, and 

 most of the mines which are worked are in this portion of the range. 



Between 58 and 61 N. lat. ore the mountains called the Ural of 

 Verkhotoori, which some writers consider a part of the Central I'r.tl, 

 and others as attached to the Northern Ural. In these parts the 

 higher portion of the range is covered with rocky mountains, which 

 usually form elevated summits. The most southern of these summits, 

 the Pawdinskoi Kamen, according to some authorities, rises to tho 

 height of 6829 feet above the sea ; but, according to others, only to 

 about two-thirds of that elevation. On the north of it are other SMIU 

 mils, which rise to between 5000 and 6000 feet above the sea. Tho 

 low depressions by which these summits are separated from one 

 another are very swampy, but generally covered witli woods, which 

 also extend over the lower declivity of the summits, whilst the high, r 

 part is above the line of trees, and presents either bare rocks, or, 

 where it is covered with soil, swamps of great depth. Though nono 

 of these summits appear to be covered with snow all the year round, 

 masses of ice are found even at the end of the summer in the ravines 

 which furrow the northern declivities. 



TheNorthern Ural occupies that portion of the range which exti-nd < 

 from 61 to 70 N. lat. It is very little known. The Russians call it 

 the Barren Ural, to distinguish it from the Central and Southern Ural, 

 which are rich in mines and covered with wood, whilst the Northern 

 Ural consists of rocks, and is destitute of trees. These rocky masses are 

 nearly always covered with fogs. Tho lower tracts between them are 

 occupied by moors or covered with mosses. There are forests of large 

 pines as far uorth as 63 N. lat. ; but farther north the growth of 

 these trees is stunted, and near 65 N. lat. they disappear. The 

 Northern Ural does not seem to rise to a great elevation, and where 

 it terminates on the Arctic Ocean it is composed of broken rocks 

 covered with swampa. 



The basis of the Ural chain is granite, and tho superior stratifica- 

 tions are limestone and quartz, and many erratic blocks are sea 

 over the surface. The central and southern portions abound in wood, 

 chiefly pines, cedars, larches, and other natives of a northern climate ; 

 but the oak and ash are found in the south-western parts. There aro 

 ' many rich valleys and fine pastures, where great numbers of cattle arc 

 bred. Numberless rivers abounding in fish issue from both sides of 

 the chain, tho principal of which are the Sosva, the Isset, the Tobol, 

 the Emba, the Ural, tho Bclaia, the Kama, and the I'etchora. Theru 

 are seven posse* over these mountains : the five that are the most 

 easy to cross are the road from Perm to Ekatarinburg ; that to 

 I'vtropauloskaja ; and the three roads to Orenburg. 



The Ural Mountains abound with mineral wealth ; and valuable 

 mines of iron, copper, gold, and platinum are worked. The iron- and 

 r.ipl rr-niiiii's had long been considered among the most valuable 

 sources of the national wealth, when, in the middle of the ISth 

 century, it was discovered that gold-mines also existed there. The 



